Archive: People and Markets

What the Second Trump Administration Might Mean for Collectors

What does Donald Trump’s return to the White House mean for collectors in the USA? Will the new Administration help “Make Collecting Great Again” or will it be anti-collecting business as usual at the State Department and other government agencies? Predictions are always perilous to make, but Peter Tompa has dared to make some nonetheless.

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Pobjoy’s 50 Pence Moon Coin

Pobjoy Mint has issued a 50 pence coin featuring the surface of the moon. The coin is available in two versions and comes with special permission granted by NASA.

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CIT: The Last Issue in the Real Heroes Series – Astronaut

With the last issue of the Real Heroes series, CIT pays tribute to the courage of astronauts. The focus is on an iconic scene that was implemented with technical perfection as a reflection in the visor of a spacesuit.

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A fresh start for the British Museum? Maybe with numismatist Mark Jones heading the museum as interim director. Photo museum: UK. Photo Sir Mark Jones: © National Trust for Scotland.

A Numismatist at the Head of the British Museum?

Following the resignation of the British Museum’s director and his deputy, the board of trustees has already filled one position on an interim basis. Surprisingly, the numismatist Sir Mark Jones has been proposed as interim director.

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Archive: Coins, Medals and more

Karl Ludwig von Bruck, the mastermind behind the Vienna Coinage Treaty. We chose not to depict Emperor Franz Josef I at this point, who is shown on the coins, but the liberal politician Karl Ludwig von Bruck. Born into the family of a bookbinder in Elberfeld (now Wuppertal, Germany), he worked his way up from a merchant’s position to become Austria’s finance minister. He could almost be described as a beacon of hope for Austrian economic policy. It was tragic – and not just for him personally – that Franz Josef “ungraciously” dismissed him in April 1860 on false suspicions. The then 61-year-old took his own life. This deprived Austria of an imaginative politician who might have prevented its economic marginalization by Prussia.

A War Fought with Unusual Weapons: How Prussia Used Finance and Politics to Force the Habsburg Hereditary Lands Out of the German Confederation

On 26 March 2024, the Künker auction house will offer the Tursky Collection with coins of Emperor Franz Joseph I. We use specimens from this collection to tell the story of how Prussia used its economic sway to become the sole hegemonic power in Germany.

What Do Gaming Counters Have to Do with Numismatics?

On 5 July 2025, Künker will offer a complete set of trictrac pieces at its auction 425. The ensemble is of great cultural and historical value. This prompts us to ask why gaming counters are part of the numismatic field – and what insights they can offer into the numismatic daily life of the early modern period.
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